Crimson, the Color of Blood

After being shot in the head by police, a criminal (Paul Naschy) winds up in the hands of a mad doctor experimenting with transplants.

Oh no!

The drunken doctor's hands have been damaged, leaving the surgery to his wife! Through a chain of absurd events, the brain transplant is completed. This leads to the inevitable, blood-soaked finale.

CRIMSON, THE COLOR OF BLOOD is a fantastically cheeezy mix of horror and crime drama. Lovers of mad science, gore, and / or Paul Naschy should be in ecstasy over this movie!...

I have been a great fan of the late Spanish Horror/Exploitation legend Paul Naschy for a long time now. While not all of his films can be described as great (though some can), they are entirely entertaining. Juan Fortuny's "Las Ratas No Duermen De Noche" aka. "Crimson, the Color of Blood" (I bought it under the title "The Man With The Severed Head") of 1976 is doubtlessly one of the cheesier and more confused flicks in Naschy's wide repertoire, and yet it is an amusing little film that my fellow fans of the man might enjoy.

During a heist, a gangster (Naschy) is shot in the head. In order to safe the man's life, the members of his gang force an obsessed doctor to perform an operation which requires parts of another human being's brain. Not so cleverly, they choose to take the brain of their biggest rival, a criminal aptly named 'The Sadist'...

The film, which starts like a heist-flick, is, more or less, a Spanish 70s take on a concept popular in the classic Horror era. Films such as Karl Freund's fantastic "Mad Love" of 1935 (starring Peter Lorre) or "Black Friday" of 1940 (starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi) had topics about body parts being replaced with those of brutal criminals, which inevitably lead to fatal results. Unfortunately, "Crimson" is an overall rather messy, yet very predictable film that features no surprises and a regrettably short screen-time for its star Paul Naschy. The film still guarantees a fun time, however. There are some moments of gore as well as some sleaze and female nudity (depending on which version you see). Naschy is cool as always, though his screen time is limited. One should try and get hold of the Spanish version, since the English dubbing is one of the most horrendous I have ever heard (which, then again, contributes to the 'camp' factor of the film). Overall, "Las Ratas No Duermen De Noche" is cheesy fun that is mildly recommended to my fellow Naschy-fans.

What we have here is an example of what happens when a crime film meets horror - it's a bungled heist, and the result is not jail time or dead gang members, but a transplanted head! Yep, that's the premise of Juan Fortuny's weird little horror film that features the talents of the ever-popular Paul Naschy as the lucky recipient of a radical new operation. Obviously the major inspiration for this film is Mary Shelly's all-time classic horror story 'Frankenstein' as we've got a mad scientist, a 'monster' and some new medical breakthrough. The main story focuses on the fortune of Jack Surnett, played by Paul Naschy. He and his gang decide to pull a jewel heist, but when one of them cocks up, the alarms start ringing and the cops turn up. This is bad news for Jack as he gets shot in the head and it looks like his time may be up. However, his gang aren't ready to just sit back and watch him die so they take him to their own doctor and soon it transpires that the only way to save him is a brain transplant, and the only brain available used to belong to "The Sadist"...

It's probably obvious from the plot summary, but Crimson really is a bizarre film. Quite how anyone thought these elements could come together well is beyond me, but actually the result isn't as bad as thought it might be; although it's not really as fun either. It's clear that this film was never really meant to be taken seriously and it's a good job it doesn't take itself seriously. The best thing about most of Paul Naschy's films is Paul Naschy, although that's not really the case here as he spends most of the film lying in bed. However, when he finally does get up the film really takes a turn for the better as we get to watch Naschy with a bandage round his head running all over the countryside getting up to no good. The film isn't especially gory, but there's a fair bit of that cheap looking bright crimson blood to keep horror fans happy. It's clear that the film is never really going to go anywhere, and it really doesn't...but I only saw this for a fun time and it just about delivers that much. I wont call this brilliant or a must see, but its decent stuff and I can recommend it.

I am a Paul Naschy fan and he is always worth watching.

No, this will not garner any awards, but I bet it is on Quentin Tarantino's shelf. A perfect combination of crime and horror and a bit of Frankenstein thrown in, this is the perfect film to sit around and get drunk to with a group of friends.

Silvia Solar, Euro-trash veteran, and remembered for her role in at least one video nasty, is the wife of a mad scientist (Ricardo Palmerola), called upon to save Naschy, who was injured in a botched robbery.

They have to find a brain for a transplant. These hardened killers don't want to cut the head off the person they found, so they put him on train tracks to let the train do it. LOL Gilda Arancio (Zombie Lake) plays Naschy's girl, and plays a crucial part in getting the head they need, as she used to be the girlfriend of The Sadist (Roberto Mauri), the man who's brain they took.

Things don't turn out as planned - do they ever? The Sadist brain turns Naschy into a madman.

Just pure fun.

Euro-cult icon Paul Naschy plays Jack Surnett, leader of a criminal gang. After a botched heist, the gang heads for the hills, and Surnett is seriously wounded by police during the getaway. Only a brain transplant can save Surnett now, and, as fate would have it, there is a professor (Ricardo Palmerola) out there specializing in that sort of thing. Surnetts' gang goes out and steals a donor brain, from none other than Surnetts' biggest rival, a goon dubbed The Sadist (Roberto Mauri). Naturally, as Surnett revives, he comes under the influence of The Sadists' brain, becoming even more depraved & violent.

This sounded like it had the makings of a solid exploitation-crime flick (with a touch of horror), but alas it's all rather flat and unexciting. Director Juan Fortuny relates the story at a snails' pace, with too many unnecessary detours. Worst of all, this is a Paul Naschy film in which Naschy BARELY APPEARS, at least until the final 20 or so minutes as Surnett begins to unravel.

There is *some* decent gore, and there are certainly *some* amusing moments (such as two henchmen, Paul (Claude Boisson) and Karl (Victor Israel) getting squeamish in regards to severing The Sadists' head. So they wait for a train to do the job for them!

The cast is good, although the English dubbing is pretty cheesy as it is for so many of these types of movies. Carlos Otero is especially effective as the pathetic Doc Ritter, while Israel, sporting glasses and a bushy mustache, amuses as the weaselly Karl.

This likely won't appeal to Naschy fans across the board, although I *will* say that, yes, it is indeed an atypical effort for the Spanish genre star. People bemoaning the dearth of sex & nudity should be aware that there IS an alternate cut running about 10 minutes longer that has more of what they want.

Six out of 10.